What Runners Can Learn From Chemistry
What is limiting my running performance?
November 7, 2021. Mile 21 of the New York City marathon.
My body refuses to move forward. My knees are fine. My breathing is okay. My heart rate is decent. But some part of my inner quad is killing me. I don’t even know its name! That muscular problem defined/controlled the end of my race. I learned much later that it was the psoas major.
How can a single problem have such a big impact on performance?
A chemistry analogy
As a runner, my goal is to produce energy and use it efficiently to move forward. The better I train, the more energy I can make available to my body and the more efficient I get at using it. As a result, I get faster.
Setup
For simplicity, let us consider only two running performance factors: body strength and mileage. Let us imagine that we are able to measure all these factors as a common unit.
Now we can think of the running process as a chemical reaction:
- the reagents (or inputs) are the different aspects of training
- the product is the energy eventually used to run
We end up with a simple chemical formula:
Body strength + mileage = energy
Interpretation
This means that I need one unit of body strength and one unit of mileage to produce one unit of energy. I cannot substitute one for the other: I need both.
In this simplistic view, training is developing reserves of such units: I end up with x units of mileage and y units of body strength. Therefore the maximum energy I can produce is the minimum of x and y!
Limiting reagent
As I alluded to above, whichever factor has the lowest number of units is the limiting factor. In chemistry, it is called limiting reagent. Piling up more units of other inputs won’t help at all! If I want to get more output, I need to add some unit of that reagent.
Takeaways for a runner
Even though this is a simple analogy, I find the concept interesting.
Prioritize
As an amateur at running, I cannot possibly focus on all aspects of my running when I train. I need to make choices and prioritize. This framework allows me to focus on a limited number of factors that I consider my weakest. Right after that marathon, I decided to go to the gym twice a week to improve my body strength and make sure that my abductors/adductors — the main culprits in my last marathon — are strong enough for my next long race. I am convinced it was the right choice for me. Especially as someone who has been injured, prioritizing strength will not only help me get faster, but also help me avoid future injuries.
Diversify your training
For those of us who have built a running routine over the years, the “limiting reagent” framework can help diversify our training. It incentivizes doing things we are less used to. It breaks our routines and keeps us motivated because we are trying out new things.
It took running a marathon for me to realize how weak some of my muscles were. I would have never discovered it if I had kept on running shorter distances. This is why it is vital for me to run a wide range of distances — you learn a lot about your body, your strengths and weaknesses, and you can come up with an informed plan to improve.
